Electrical components including dice are presented to assembly systems in a variety of carrier forms including waffle pack, tape-and-reel and wafer ring formats. In general, specialized automated equipment must be used to pick up, align and position the electrical components onto suitable substrates.
For waffle pack handling, one relevant issue is the aspect ratio and size of the electrical components relative to the associated waffle pack compartments the components are positioned in. Conventional waffle packs are typically formed from plastic and produced using an injection molding system. Electrical components positioned within conventional waffle packs can be easily displaced during transportation and typical handling of the waffle pack. Even machine vibrations are sufficient to displace some miniscule components. In some cases, the electrical components may even be ejected from their associated compartments and/or damaged. Miniaturized components such as resistors, capacitors and inductors are especially prone to jostling and are easily displaced. The larger the compartments relative to the components they hold, the greater the opportunity for jostling, displacement and misalignment. Reducing the size of the compartments of the waffle pack allows for a reduction in the maximum displacement of the associated components positioned within the compartments during handling. However, conventional waffle packs are limited in available sizes, and in some instances, the compartments are even too large for certain very small components used in various modern applications. Furthermore, the use of custom-sized waffle packs is often cost-prohibitive.
Some automated assembly systems utilize vision systems and pattern recognition software. The pattern recognition software, or “machine vision,” tools are used to guide a variety of robotic handling and assembly processes such as, by way of example, picking up electrical components from a waffle pack. In this case, the pattern recognition software is used to identify an electrical component within the waffle pack so that the system's pick-up tool can align itself to the electrical component and pick up the targeted electrical component. More specifically, in these applications, a robotic element moves to where the targeted electrical component is approximately located and captures an image of the waffle pack. The software is then used to find, identify and calculate the position of the targeted electrical component by recognizing patterns on the component. A pick-up tool then orientates (aligns) itself with the electrical component. The tool then picks up the electrical component and positions it on an appropriate substrate such as a printed circuit assembly or printed circuit board (PCB).
Although conventional arrangements and processes work well for many applications, there are continuing efforts to develop more efficient automated processes.